"WE COULD ASK ANYONE ON OUR CAST—THEY WERE ALL INSPIRED BY HER TO COME INTO THIS BUSINESS."—JON M. CHU
Still, she scored major roles in what would become blockbuster hits in America: Colonel Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies, a Bond girl whose combat prowess gave Pierce Brosnan’s 007 a run for his money; geisha doyenne Mameha in Memoirs of a Geisha; and the loyal, poised fighter Yu Shu Lien in Ang Lee’s wuxia epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But while Crouching Tiger remains the highest-grossing foreign-language movie in American history, it didn’t result in instant stardom for Yeoh or its other Asian stars.
Landing Tomorrow Never Dies did, however, allow Michelle “Khan” to exit stage left. Yeoh has used her birth name ever since. “After that, it was like, You know what? My name is not so hard.”
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From early on in the development of Crazy Rich Asians, everyone from Chu to the book’s author Kevin Kwan and executive producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson wanted Yeoh to play Eleanor. “It was sort of like, No duh,” Chu says.
Yeoh could project the power, elegance, and intelligence Eleanor required. But more than that, as one of very few Asian actresses to enjoy a long career in Asian and American markets, she held an almost talismanic importance for the first Hollywood movie with an all-Asian cast in 25 years. (The last was 1993’s The Joy Luck Club.) “We could ask anyone on our cast,” Chu says. “They were all inspired by her to come into this business.”
Yet in the wake of Crazy Rich Asians and its wild success, some wondered where Yeoh had been for the last 20 years. And when you tremble at her steely, flawless performance as Eleanor, it’s tempting to ask: Why isn’t Michelle Yeoh a bigger star? As Chu has said: “She should have much more recognition. She should be on the same level with a Meryl Streep.”
“I don’t think about that,” Yeoh demurs when I ask about it. She’s grateful for what she’s been able to achieve. “Maybe it’s because I'm Chinese—I like to please the people around me. But you don't sit there and think about it.” What Yeoh knows better than most is that until the runaway box-office success of Crazy Rich Asians, Hollywood stardom has been virtually impenetrable to Asian women. But for a new generation of Asian actresses working in Hollywood—think Lucy Liu, Constance Wu, Awkwafina, and Greta Lee—perhaps it’s that much easier to break boundaries when Yeoh has taken a whack at them first.
Crazy Rich Asians benefited from Yeoh’s rich experience. She had plenty of opinions about Eleanor, from her motivations and actions (the character is much more nuanced than the frantic, icy antagonist of the book) to what color the lanterns in her garden should be (red, not white, which in Chinese culture symbolizes death).
But one behind-the-scenes tweak, care of Yeoh, has attained legendary status. Eleanor’s engagement ring, featuring a gargantuan emerald nugget flanked by two diamonds, plays a crucial role in the film. Chu originally wanted an emerald ring modeled after one that John F. Kennedy had designed for Jackie, an ornate, jewel-encrusted honker. But the version ginned up by production didn’t meet Yeoh’s standards.
Jacket, skirt, tie, skirt, all Dior; Heels, Christian Louboutin
EMILY SHUR
“She just took two seconds,” Chu recalls. “And she said, ‘No, that's not the ring.’ We were like, ‘Oh, uh, yeah, well...what else do you have?’” Like a genie, Yeoh supplied one of her own baubles: the very rock you see on screen. It’s massive, which will come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen Yeoh dripping in diamonds and emeralds on the red carpet. It looks like you’d have to sell a small country to buy it.
“I believe in treating yourself,” Yeoh explains when I ask about the bling, which came from an Aladdin’s cave of treasures belonging to a jeweler friend. “I believe that things should speak to you, and when I saw that stone, it was like love at first sight.” A grin spreads across her face. “Then I thought, ****, maybe I should ask how much it is.”
Her folly was the movie’s windfall. “I felt like this was the Eleanor piece,” says Yeoh. “It's recognizable, but it's so simple. It's not a big name, it doesn't come from a particular brand.” But its extravagance stressed out everyone on set. “The producers were more worried than I was,” she says, laughing. “I said, ‘It's already insured, don't worry.’”
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Yeoh’s jewelry is kind of a signature. “I love my jewels,” she says. “When I used to live in Hong Kong, my friends and I would play Mahjong”—the Chinese game that plays a pivotal role in the movie—“and we would wear all our rings, all our bracelets, and go like this.” She swirls her hands around as if she’s shuffling tiles on the bright green felt of a playing table, imagining the tornado-meets-windchime clacking of precious stones and glittering metal. Then her head goes back, and there’s that boisterous laugh again.
As if by conjuring, Yeoh spots Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan ensconced in another corner of the restaurant. When our time comes to an end, she gets up to greet him. But she’s concerned; my plate isn’t empty. “You didn't get to eat!” she says. I assure her I’ll finish every last bite before I go. “Okay, good,” she says, squeezing my shoulder gently.
It’s what Eleanor Young does when she sees Nick for the first time—makes sure he’s fed. It’s what she does when she hand-rolls dumplings with her family—pays respect to tradition and propriety. And I think it means the same thing coming from Michelle Yeoh. She knows how important it is.
EMILY SHUR
Photography by Emily Shur | Cinematography by Danny Dwyer | Style Editor Yashua Simmons | Style Assistant Mark-Paul Barro | Hair by Makiko Nara using Oribe at Walter Schupfer Management Makeup by Sabrina Bedrani for Christian Dior Beauty | Special Thanks to Airbnb | Special Thanks to Cavallier Investigations | Special Thanks to Ladurée | Video Production by Rachel Liberman | Production by Oona Wally, Suze Lee, & Sameet Sharma
ESTELLE TANG Senior Editor
Estelle Tang is the Senior Editor covering culture and entertainment at ELLE.com, including TV, movies, books, and music.